Page 53 of Shattered

“We may as well head to Over Easy. I know Shirley and the girls already have a celebratory lunch planned.” Henley shrugged.

A commotion from our side drew our attention away from the upcoming festivities.

“What are we supposed to do now? You said we’d get him back.”

Bill towered over his attorney, spittle flying in every direction as he shouted in the other man’s face. Trudy was next to him, except her nasty sneer was aimed at us, in particular, Jade.

“I said it was highly improbable, if you’ll recall, which proved to be accurate.”

“You said a lot of fancy words, but seein’ as you took our cash anyway, we figured we had a shot at winning,” Trudy scoffed.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t heed my warnings, or apparently understand proper English.” The last part was said under his breath.

“We want a refund.”

“I’m not Walmart, Bill. There are no refunds, returns, or exchanges. Now if you’ll excuse me.” He turned on his heel and rushed away.

Trudy took an unsteady step forward. At this range, it was easy to see her pupils were pinpoints, giving every indication she was indeed under the influence of something. Not taking any chances, I moved in front of Jade while Duncan and Keaton positioned themselves to flank my sides, effectively blocking in the other three behindus. Thankfully, the gallery had mostly emptied out, so it was only the eight of us left.

“Move along,” Duncan warned, his deep snarl echoing through the silent courtroom.

“Or what?”

I’d give her credit; the woman had a set of balls on her. But it would take a hell of a lot more than gumption to get through our impenetrable wall.

“Or we’ll have you arrested for loitering,” Keaton added.

“I didn’t throw anything on the ground.”

“Oh my God. Are you sure you and Jade weren’t adopted?”

“Pheebs, not now,” Jett admonished.

“Seriously though,” she continued, “where did your super brain come from because it certainly wasn’t genetic.”

Jade’s anguished voice hit my ears seconds too late as she shoved past me. “Where did you get that necklace?” It all happened so fast, my only recourse was to loop an arm around her waist and pull her back into my chest. I hated having her between me and potential danger, but now my curiosity had piqued.

Trudy fingered the tiny silver cross at her neck. “It was a gift from my mother.”

Son of a bitch!

“Bullshit. You stole it.”

“Angel, settle,” I whispered in her ear when she struggled to break free of my hold. “I’ll check the cameras when we get home.”

“It’s definitely time for you to go.”

Keaton nodded to the bailiff, who’d reentered at some point, and the two of them ushered the older Trumbles out. Unfortunately, her father decided to leave us with a parting shot.

“This isn’t over.”

Jade

The party was in full swing when we hit the diner an hour earlier. There were balloons of every color tied to the chairs and streamers with “It’s A Boy” strung up along the ceiling. Leave it to the ladies of Over Easy to find humor in a guardianship hearing. I shook my head, thinking about how half the people here probably didn’t understand the banner was talking about Jett.

Sal had outdone himself with all the food he’d prepared. There were buffet tables lining the front counter holding silver trays overloaded with piles of carved meats for sandwiches. Too bad I didn’t feel much like celebrating. True, we’d won, but at what cost?

“What’s with the sad face, Gumdrop?” Betsy slid into the booth across from me.

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